How Bitcoin's Price Rise Could Be Fueled by Job-Stealing AI

Bitcoin's price trajectory in an AI-dominated economy may hinge less on code and more on how central banks respond to labor market disruption. Greg Cipolaro, global head of research at financial services firm NYDIG, argued in a new note that artificial intelligence will influence bitcoin chiefly through macroeconomic channels, with growth, employment, real interest rates, and liquidity as the key variables.

AI Job Losses Could Spark a Liquidity Wave

Widespread automation that eliminates jobs and suppresses wages could weaken consumer demand significantly, according to Cipolaro. In a severe scenario, falling incomes would strain debt payments and pressure asset prices across the board. Policymakers might respond with rate cuts or fiscal spending to stabilize the economy, unleashing liquidity that could support bitcoin, which has historically tracked shifts in global money supply.

Those concerns appear far from theoretical. Jack Dorsey's fintech company Block revealed this week that it is shrinking toward its pre-pandemic headcount, cutting roughly 40% of its staff. Dorsey cited AI-enabled efficiency as the driving force behind the reductions, a development that Citrini Research had theorized in its analysis of the AI-driven market anxiety that rattled investors this week.

What Happens If AI Boosts Growth Without Mass Layoffs?

A productivity-led AI expansion without significant unemployment would create a less favorable environment for bitcoin. If artificial intelligence raises economic output and real yields climb, central banks could maintain tighter monetary policy. Higher real interest rates have historically weighed on bitcoin by increasing the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets and making traditional investments more attractive.

Cipolaro drew parallels to earlier waves of technological upheaval. The steam engine displaced manual labor in factories and on farms. Electrification overhauled entire industries. Computers and the internet automated clerical tasks and reshaped retail, media, and finance. Each revolution sparked fears of permanent job destruction, yet aggregate demand never collapsed. New industries ultimately absorbed displaced workers, even when the transition proved painful.

The implication is not that disruption will be painless, but that the equilibrium response to new technology has historically been integration, not obsolescence. Society's response to AI will likely follow the same pattern.

— Greg Cipolaro, Global Head of Research at NYDIG

Historical Precedent Favors Integration Over Collapse

Cipolaro contended that AI functions as a general-purpose technology, meaning firms must redesign workflows and invest in complementary tools before realizing its potential. Over time, that process tends to expand productive capacity rather than shrink it. Factory mechanization in the early 1900s sparked labor unrest as machines replaced skilled craftsmen. Personal computers in the 1980s and 1990s eliminated typist pools and back-office roles. E-commerce later hollowed out brick-and-mortar retail positions. Yet each wave ultimately gave rise to entirely new industries that were unthinkable before the prior technology existed.

For bitcoin, the distinction between short-term disruption and long-term structural growth is pivotal. If AI ultimately raises sustained economic output, the macroeconomic backdrop could diverge sharply from the short-term shocks that typically trigger the liquidity injections bitcoin has thrived on.

Machine-to-Machine Payments and Bitcoin's Early Vision

Beyond macroeconomic effects, AI could accelerate bitcoin adoption through agentic payments, where software autonomously transacts with other software without human involvement. One of Bitcoin's earliest conceptual visions centered on machine-to-machine payments, and AI-powered autonomous agents may finally provide the catalyst to make that vision practical.

However, Cipolaro noted that incentives for widespread rollout remain insufficient today. Credit cards bundle rewards programs and short-term credit, features that stablecoins and cryptocurrency payment rails do not yet replicate. Until agentic crypto payments surpass traditional payment infrastructure in value, broad adoption of machine-to-machine bitcoin transactions will likely remain limited.

What This Means Going Forward

The ultimate impact of AI on bitcoin's price depends on humanity's collective response to the disruption. If artificial intelligence triggers a deflationary shock severe enough to force central banks to restart monetary easing, bitcoin stands to benefit from the resulting liquidity surge. Conversely, if AI drives a productivity boom that lifts real yields and keeps monetary policy restrictive, the cryptocurrency could face sustained headwinds. Bitcoin sits downstream of macroeconomic forces rather than at the center of the AI revolution itself, according to NYDIG's analysis published on February 28, 2026.